Anyone with a Genesis and ability to record audio?

[cero]

We're wondering if the 4PCM driver is buggy, or if the issue is just with emulators. Anyone here have a Genesis + flashcart + ability to record directly from it, e.g. with a stereo cable right to the sound card's line-in?

Test ROM: https://github.com/Stephane-D/SGDK/files/47252/rom.pdf
What it should sound like: https://github.com/Stephane-D/SGDK/files/46007/bug.pdf
What it sounds like in an emulator: https://github.com/Stephane-D/SGDK/file ... output.pdf

The files are renamed to pdf because github restricts what files can be uploaded. Rename the rom to "game.md.gz" and the sounds to "sound.wav.gz", and unpack before use.

We'd need a high quality recording from real HW to properly compare. Any help appreciated.

https://github.com/Stephane-D/SGDK/issues/44

[Grind]

It's quiet but I recorded this from hardware. Sounds better than emulator but still a bit off.

[cero]

Thanks! This confirms there is a driver issue.

[Stef]

I analyzed the output produced from the real hardware and except about the pitch which is a bit off (i can correct this) there is no real issue except the well known ladder effect of the DAC. To correct that you have to pre filter / process your input sample to take the "ladder effect" in account but i do not know how much that is possible and i'm almost certain it does not behave exactly the same depending the system.
I have also taken a WAV log from Fusion emulator and can see the sample was "sample perfect" compared to original sample so there is nothing wrong with the driver :-/

[cero]

Oh, it's a hw fault? That's disappointing, but understandable. Would be nice to be documented in sound.h then.

[Stef]

Unfortunately it does seems so... normally with "usual" sample you don't really notice the ladder effect but here your sample uses many square frequencies (which make me think you can almost reproduce it from the PSG) and the ladder impact is very noticeable in that case.

[cero]

It is a chiptune, but I used a PCM rendering of it, because of how PITA chiptunes are on the genesis.

rant on:
Seriously, having to define your own instruments with a non-existent tool, then having to use a tracker that has no knowledge of those instruments, being unsure of how anything will even sound.

To add to that, I couldn't find any working tracker in the first place, no mention of an easy-to-use one.

Why must the tools suck so. Why is there no "instrument bank" containing pre-defined instruments for everything common, such as in MIDI soundfonts? That would even enable straight MIDI conversion.
rant off.

[Stef]

Do you know VGMMaker or DefleMask ? Both are tracker which allow you to easily compose music for Sega Megadrive system.
Simply use VGM export from them and use the VGM or XGM driver from SGDK to play the resulting .vgm file, very easy

VGMMaker:
http://forum.openmpt.org/index.php?topic=5354.0

Deflemask:
http://www.delek.com.ar/deflemask

[cero]

Hm, I only looked at Echo, which seemed to be the most useful sound system, but it had absolutely terrible tool support. VGMMaker seems to be Windows-only, and Deflemask is closed source, so they are both out.

The Yamaha chip in Genesis is said to be a fully capable synthesizer, able to play six notes at once in different instruments. The ideal workflow would be like MIDI, I tell it channels 1-2 are grand piano, 2-3 are electric guitar and 4-5 are drums, then feed it notes. But nobody seems to have instrument definitions for the chip anywhere, not to mention standard MIDI ones.

I used to have a MIDI keyboard, and I can speak sheet music. I find the tracker UIs completely unintuitive and hard to use. Then I also require the tracker to be able to run on Linux, and be open source. To my knowledge, there is no such tracker, though I only looked at some that would work with Echo.

[Stef]

VGMMaker as Deflemask contains instrument definition and i know VGMMaker does support midi input so you can really compose from your MIDI keyboard. I guess you can try to use Wine to get VGMMaker working.

Honestly i don't know much about the tools you can use for Echo but these topics should help you when it comes to have music / SFX in megadrive game :

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1844
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2063
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1909
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1935
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1606
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=1903

[cero]

Thanks. I've read many of those before though.

Echo is not a requirement, I can use any engine/driver, but it seems none have good tools.

It's pretty weird to me that the Yamaha chip is so capable, and then nobody has used it for much. It's even used in some real synths.